Download : 12th January, 2017 – Current Affairs PDF
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National Current Affairs
Child Sex Ratio at Birth in Haryana Touches 900-mark in Two Decades
- Child Sex ratio at birth (SRB)in the State of Haryana crossed the 900-mark in the year 2016 for the first time in almost two decades.
- In December 2016, the SRB in the state was
- As of 2011, India’s child sex ratio was 914 girls to 1000 boys, while the same in Haryana was far worse than the national average which stood at 834 girls to 1000 boys.
- The State government made effective implementation of the law including Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, 1994, and the Medical Terminal of Pregnancy (MTP) Act against illegal sex determination and female feticide.
Delhi Airport Adopts World’s First Digital Platform “ARC”
- The dynamic platform, developed at the Airport’s Terminal 3, has been developed by Green Business Certification Inc (GBCI) and US Green Building Council (USGBC).
- The platform would enable the airport operator to measure, manage and improve performance of airport regarding resource consumption, carbon emissions and quality of passenger space.
- Airport authorities can benchmark their performance with international best performance of similar type.
International Conference & Exhibition on Reinforced Plastics (ICERP)
- The three day international event will provide an ideal opportunity for the Global Composites Industry to focus its attention to India.
- The conference will focus on the latest developments on mechanization, automation and innovation to meet growing challenges of end user requirements.
- It will also provide update on composites in terms of raw materials, process developments, machinery, new applications, case studies among others.
- The ICERP event is an important event of the Indian composites industry organized by FRP Institute once in two years since 2002.
- It is the biggest event on Composites in India and second largest event in Asia.
Telangana Government Signs MoU with Civil Aviation Ministry for Regional Connectivity Scheme
- Telangana government has signed a MoU with the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Airports Authority of India under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS)for air connectivity by developing small airports and airstrips in the state.
- The RCS would be in operation for a period of 10 years and provide connectivity to un-served and under-served airports of the country through revival of existing air-strips and airports.
- Central Government would be providing concessions in the form of reduced excise on VAT, service tax and flexibility of code sharing at the RCS airports to reduce the cost of operation.
- State governments would also lower the VAT besides other concessions.
- The fare for a one hour journey of approximately 500 km on a fixed wing aircraft or for a 30 minute journey on a helicopter would be capped at Rs 2,500, with proportionate pricing for routes of different lengths.
Business & Economy
India’s GDP Growth Decelerates to 7 percent for fiscal 2016-17
- World Bank cut the India’s GDP growth for 2016-17 fiscal ending on March 31, 2017 to 7 percent from its previous estimate of 6 percent due to demonetization.
- The bank cited the immediate withdrawal of a large volume of currency in circulation and subsequent replacement with new notes as the main reason behind the deceleration of the GDP growth rate.
- The report mentioned that demonetization would have negative impact on the Goods and Services Tax, labor reforms and land reforms.
- The bank also asserted that India is expected to regain its momentum with GDP growth at 6 percent in Fiscal Year (FY) 2018-19 and strengthening to 7.8 per cent in FY 2019-20.
Indian Standards on Gold Hallmark Revised by Bureau of Indian Standards
- From now the hallmarked gold jewelry will be available in three grades: 14 carat, 18 carat and 22 carat.
- These cartage would also be mentioned on the jewelry besides the fineness for the convenience of the customers.
- For 22 carat jewelry 22K will be marked in addition to 916 (22K916), for 18 carat jewelry 18K will be marked in addition to 750 (18K750) and for 14 carat jewelry, 14K will be marked in addition to 585 (14K585).
- Hallmark on gold jewelry will now have four marks: BIS Mark, purity in carat and fineness, assaying center’s identification mark and jeweler’s identification mark.
Atos & NASSCOM Collaborates to Set Up NDLM Centre in Gujarat
- Digital Services firm Atos and NASSCOM Foundationhave collaborated to launch National Digital Literacy Mission (NDLM) centers at Vadodara, Gujarat to conduct skill development programs in the area of Information Technology.
- Under the NDLM Scheme both the firms would work together to impart Digital Literacy to make people IT literate, so that they can operate digital devices, like mobile phones, tablets among other electronic devices
- Atos in India will facilitate the training infrastructure and the trainers at these NDLM centers with the help of NASSCOM nominated NGO’s at its respective location centers.
- The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM)is a trade association of Indian Information Technology (IT) and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry
- It facilitates business and trade in software and services and encourages the advancement of research in software technology.
‘Fly For Sure’ scheme Launched by Air India
- The scheme will ensure that passengers reach their destination the desired day without the need to buy expensive last-minute tickets in case of missing booked flight.
- Under the scheme, the customer will have to pay extra 2,000while booking the ticket and get to board any Air India flight on the same day and same sector in case of missing or cancelled flight.
- These vouchers will be non-refundable and can be availed on all domestic routes offered by AI.
BPO firm WNS acquires US-based Denali Services for $40 million
- Business process management company, WNS Global Services announced acquisition of US-based Denali Sourcing Services for $40 million.
- Denali is a profit-making company clocking revenues of up to $18 million.
People in News
Shalabh Seth appointed CEO of Ola Fleet Technologies
- Seth will drive supply growth through leasing and other driver focused initiatives to consolidate Ola’s position as the market leader in the Indian ride sharing space.
- Prior to this,Shalabh was the managing director in SABMiller India and he was responsible for business expansion and growth in the country.
Daniel Ortega Sworn in Nicaragua’s President for Third Consecutive Term
- Daniel Ortega was sworn in as the President of Nicaragua for the third consecutive term while his wife, Rosario Murillo was elected as the new vice president.
- Ortega and Murillo were elected in November 2016 with 72.5 percent of the vote, but with a high rate of abstentions. Their party won 71 of the 92 seats in parliament.
Dr. Ausaf Sayeed to be the next High Commissioner of India to the Republic of Seychelles
- Former IFS officer Ausaf Sayeed has been appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to the Republic of Seychelles.
- Ausaf is currently working as the Consul General, Consulate General of India, Chicago
Vikram Pawah appointed as President of BMW Group India
- He replaced Frank Schloeder who will return to German as the position of Head of Business Steering – Luxury Class.
- Prior to this, Pawah was worked as the Managing Director of Harley-Davidson India. He has more than 25 years of international experience both in the automotive and non-automotive industry.
- Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW) is a German luxury vehicle, motorcycle, and engine manufacturing company.
Sports Current Affairs
Russian Gymnast Yana Kudryavtseva Retires at 19
- Russian rhythmic gymnast, Yana Alexeyevna Kudryavtseva, announced her retirement at the age of 19, following several leg injuries including a fracture in the left foot.
- She was the latest in a long line of world-class rhythmic gymnasts from Russia, who won every Olympic gold medal in the discipline since 2000 with stars such as Alina Kabaeva and Evgeniya Kanaeva.
- During her entire career, she had won 13 All-around World Championships from 2013 to 2015.
- In 2016 Kudryavtseva had to settle for an All-around Silver medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympic due to her injury against fellow Russian Margarita Mamun.
Rajasthan Cricket Association adopts Lodha Committee reforms at EGM
- Rajasthan Cricket Association in an Emergent General Meeting (EGM) accepted all the reforms recommended by the Lodha Committee as per Supreme Court directive.
- Lodha committee was constituted by Supreme Court in January 2016 and had accepted its major recommendations in July 2016
- The Supreme court had given six months deadline to BCCI to implement the recommendations.